Thursday, April 26, 2007

MATCH DAY 3: TORONTO FC PLAYER RATINGS

Sutton: 5 - Not sure what to think about Sutton tonight, his confidence must be at a low even though most of the goals aren't his fault, a big save or two would surely help they cause right now but they have been far and few betweenReda: 3 - tough game for Reda, being pulled by Johnston can't be a good thing, struggled organizing backline, wasn't tough enough on the attacking players onWynee: 4 - looked rusty tonight, was easily beat a couple of times on his side, marking on Johnson on first goal was terribleBrennan: 5 - the entire back line looked to be in total chaos several times, Brennan has been good on an individual basis,Goldthwaite: 4 - distribution was poor, needs time to adjust to new surroundings, giveaway early on set tone for the matchRobinson: 4 - our big money player at the moment isn't doing quite enough to justify his status, missed a sitter in front of goal in the second half, defending has muchto be desired, distribution was poor tonightNagamura: 5 - helped build a few good sequences from the middle, distribution was poor several timesWelsh: 4 - had a couple of decent runs and a even a shot on goal, but is still a defensive liability, he is much too casual in his distribution of the ball, again several turnovers,predictable player, he should be on another level vs. the domestic players yet hasn't shown very much at all 3 games in - simply not good enough at this stage; a major disappointment considering the hypeEdu: 5 - Not bad for a player who hasn't played in several months, faded in and out of the match, the rust certainly showed, looked promising on the ball, it will take him time to adjust to the pace of the game in MLSEskandarian: 7 - Hard working, never stops, again came back to the midfield to retrieve the ball, TFC's best playerBuddle: 3 - non-existent for most of the match

SUBS:Boyens 5 - pretty neutral performance, gave the ball away once thoughCanizalez 6 - served as a spark plug on the flank, added some much needed energy to the team winning a few corner kicks, crosses into the middle were encouraging yet there were few Toronto players in the middle and they were easily cleared.

7 comments:

Good post. Buddle was very disappointing. I do not like what he's bringing to the table so far. In all three games he's been unable to cause any trouble for the defense and his first touch has generally been poor. The rain didn't help either.

I admire Esk for playing as hard as he does, its too bad he doesn't have any support. Canizales was a good sub, I'm guessing he's going to start next game.

A quick comment about Sutton. True, all of the goals may not be his fault, but that is what being a goalkeeper is about. The man has the slowest footwork in the league. He really seems to struggle with getting set for any shot because his feet are so slow. Honestly, I don't blame the guy for TFC's first three games, but he just doesn't seem capable of making the saves that the top keepers in this league do.

I agree with your ratings on Eskandarian and Canazalez (sp). I disagree with your rating on Buddle. All you should have given him was a 1 for starting. Mo should toast him for good.

Watching the match it was obvious to me that Esky's work ethic stems from the fact he has no confidence in his forwards. That's why he didn't pass enough and why he tried to do it all himself. Nice to see that work ethic, but, would be nicer to see someone else working as hard as Esky up front working to get a goal!

As for Buddle, Mo should bench him for good. He was just a passenger last night and his laziness shouldn't be rewarded with any further starts.

the lads obviously lack confidence, especially in front of goal. shoot, give it a shot, instead of trying to find to play the perfect 1-2! all we should ask right now is for them to play hard, never quit, and then it will eventually pay off.

(1) I'm not sure Buddle has ever said he doesn't want to play here, though there was some talk of an offer from Scandinavia earlier in the year, Buddle has been a hot & cold player his entire career (2) Canizales was very useful, if O'Brien starts on Saturday Canizales will surely not start, as Mo insists on starting Andy Welsh on the other flank.(3) Sutton will be fine, he just has to keep his sanity in order to get through this terrible stretch in his career.(4) Mo is a big fan of Buddle, I'm not so sure he will give up on Buddle just yet(5) I agree confidence in front of goal is missing, Mo has to tell his players to be selfish, though quality chances have been far and few between since the first half of the Chivas USA game.

The first goal was COMPLETELY Sutton's fault. The cross whipped right across the six yard box at a very catchable height. Watch the replay on MLSnet.com. Sutton was hugging the post like he was Bobby Sauve or something. At his size, he needs to OWN the six-yard box. He's been one of our worst players.